This invention relates to a process-controlling device of a bread baking machine enabling easy alteration of the processing time for each step of the bread baking process.
An example of a process-controlling device for baking bread is disclosed in a bread-baking machine in Utility Model Application No. Heisei 1 (1989)-108232.
A plan view of the control panel of the said baking machine, the internal structure of the baking machine, an electrical circuit of the controlling device of the baking machine and a time chart of each step of the baking process are shown in FIG. 13 to FIG. 16.
In FIG. 13, the controlling panel 52 is shown, and installed in the panel 52 is a menu switch 53 for selecting the desired type of bread such as bread loaves, French bread, sweet breads or the like;
reservation switches 54, 55 for setting the baking time of the bread;
a reset switch 56 for channeling the reservations;
a starting switch 57 for starting the bread-baking process;
a display 58 for displaying the elapsed processing time or the present time;
a dial 59 for setting the baking results of the bread and the like.
Displaying lamps 60 installed above the controlling panel 52 display the kind of bread selected by the menu switch 53 and the ending of the process.
In FIG. 14, the internal construction of the conventional bread-baking machine is shown. Also in FIG. 14, the legs 61 of the bread-baking machine 61, an openable cover lid 63, an inner frame 64, a bearing plate 65, an internal case 66, an oven heater 67, a bread baking case 68, a pair of engaging segments 70 for fixing the bread-baking case to a base plate 71 are metal 73, an upper rotating shaft 74, an agitating motor 75, a driving belt 76, a pair of pulleys 77 and 78, an output shaft 79 of the agitating motor 75, a bottom rotating shaft 80, clutch plates 81 and 82, an agitating blade 83, a glass window 84, a heat reflecting plate 85, an air supply guide 86, an air suction port 87, an air-delivering guide 88, an air fan 89, an air back-flow protection plate 90, a dough sensor 91, a heat isolator 92, an oven sensor 93 installed on the inner case 66, and an air-feeding motor 94 are also installed in the baking machine.
A circuit diagram of the baking machine controller is shown in FIG. 15.
In FIG. 15, the parts that are the same or equivalent to the ones shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 are identified with the same reference numbers. Also provided in FIG. 15 are a change-over switch 101 for switching the dough sensor 91 to the oven sensor 93, an integrator 102, a comparator 103, a thermostat 104, a voltage-checking circuit 105, a timer 106 for preventing abrupt disconnections, and a microcomputer 107. The microcomputer 107 has a RAM, a ROM, I/O ports and an A/D converter. Also in said ROM, standard programs for baking the bread and other necessary data are recorded. Further provided in the circuit shown in FIG. 15 are a transformer 108 for feeding back the heater current of the oven heater 67, a relay circuit 109 for turning the heater current of the oven heater 67 on or off, a triac 110 for controlling the heater current of the oven heater 67, an amplifying circuit 111, a speaker 112 for issuing an alarm, a relay circuit 113 for controlling the air feeding motor 94 and a relay circuit 114 for controlling the agitating motor 74.
Further, in FIG. 16 the time chart of the working process of said conventional baking machine is shown. In the baking machine, it is possible to bake bread according to the successive processing steps such as agitating, fermenting, forming and baking, after said bread dough is placed in the bread baking case 68.
In such baking machine it is also possible to bake the desired type of bread by externally regulating the menu switch 53 and the reservation switches 54 and 55 for selecting the kind of bread to be baked, and for setting the baking time of the bread to be baked, and by setting up each present processing time of each process step in the time chart shown in FIG. 16.
With reference to the processing time altering method adopted in the conventional baking machine, the processing time to be altered among the preset standard processing times is displayed on said displayer 58, then the displayed processing time (for example, 5 minutes) is exchanged with the new processing time (for example, 6 minutes) by operating the menu switch 53 and said reservation switches 54, 55 and thereafter the exchanged new processing time is applied.
However, in the process-controlling device provided in the conventional baking machine, when setting up the preset processing time, if the baking machine is accidentally started as leaving the processing time is not set up, because initial values are not input, disappears from the time chart shown in FIG. 16, which results in the dough or bread not being properly produced by said baking process which lacks the processing step.
The present invention was developed in consideration of the above-mentioned drawbacks, and its object is to provide a process-controlling device which prevents abnormal results by keeping the processing step in standard preset working condition even if the baking machine is accidentally started as leaving just the processing time is not set up.
Also, in said process-controlling device adopted in the conventional baking machine, when a specified process in the baking course is selected (for example, a loaf of bread is selected from said menu), the baking process is set up according to the preset processing time, such as a first agitating step (20 minutes), a resting step (45 minutes), a secondary agitating step (30 minutes), a fermenting step (30 minutes), a rounding step (8 seconds), and a forming step (40 minutes). Accordingly, as the processing time for each step is always kept at the preset constant standard time, for example, in the baking process for a loaf of bread, dough of the same quality is always produced, making it impossible to obtain dough having the user's preferred hardness and stickiness.
The present invention was developed in consideration of the above-mentioned drawbacks, and the object of the present invention is to provide a process-controlling device in which the processing time for processing each step of the baking process may be easily and randomly selected, automatically producing dough of many different qualities.
Furthermore, in the conventional baking machine, after the miscellaneous switches 53-55 and said dial 59 were set for regulating the baking condition, it was impossible to observe the working conditions and the progress of the baking process until the process was completed. The user was obliged to follow the baking process only by watching the positions of the switching buttons or adjusting grips.
Therefore, the present invention was developed considering the further drawbacks mentioned above, and the object of the present invention is to provide a bread-baking machine having a display which shows the respective processing steps and working conditions and newly set-up conditions, by providing a function indicating each of the working conditions and set-up conditions for the processing steps. Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following specification.